Gen 2 Churning / Turning Engine Noise (Video with audio)

Hello Prius Chat! You helped me greatly before with assessing my battery modules, replacing the weak ones, and rebalancing my Gen 2 Hybrid Battery so I'm here again looking for help diagnosing an unusual churning / turning sound coming from the passenger side of my engine area. It is an unusual sound because my Prius always runs quietly, until this sound started happening. The only thing I did recently to the car that was out of the ordinary was change the oil. I did the change per usual but realize I may have been a little low on the amount of new oil I put in. I realize problems can and will occur with too much or too little oil and saw in another thread someone said main bearing, fuel pump, or a belt could be affected due to improper oil level. I checked the dipstick the day after I changed the oil and noticed it was on the lower side of the two dots, so I added enough to get the level on the fuller side between the two dip stick dots but still here the churning after 3 or 4 days of driving. Any suggestions, help, or your experience with diagnosing sounds like this would be much appreciated! Thank you!

I took a video with audio of the sound pointing to the area the sound seems to be coming from.

 

@JC91006 Thanks for your quick response! I put in 3.5 quarts of new oil, filled the oil filter halfway as well, and it has been 6,000 miles since my last change. I try to err on the side of a little less to avoid over filling, and had used the best quality mobil 1 on my last change, the label said good up to 10,000 miles but I try to change early and often.

 

Thank you @edthefox5 and @dolj as well for your responses. I have not looked closely at the water pump belt, or done any deep inspection, just a general look at that area shown in the video. I wasn't exactly sure what I was looking for aside from clear visual signs of problems or if something was broken. I will check the radiator and coolant overflow tank after work. I'd be willing and able to get under the hood and take a look or make any adjustments or fixes that could be done with novice mechanic skill. Ultimately I am planning to drop the Prius off next Monday afternoon at the shop, that's their earliest availability. I'm hoping more damage is not done between now and then.

 

Thank you everyone @dolj @JC91006 @ChapmanF @edthefox5 for jumping right on this and helping me realize the severity of the situation. On Tuesday this week, after realizing (thanks to your feedback) what the dangers could be of continuing to drive my Prius in this state, I found a shop after I got home from work that was open until 7pm nearby. They diagnosed the problem very quickly and let me know that the water pump bearing was the issue and that it had affected the pulley, drive belt, and entire water pump assembly. It's a great shop, trustworthy mechanics but a little pricey. Great news was that they were able to get the replacement parts and complete work on my car the next day. All in all $530 plus the $80 cost of a rental car for a day was well worth it to me to preserve my Prius. Many thanks to you all who chimed in and helped talk me through understanding the importance of addressing this problem quickly and how to go about a few checks on my Prius. Without your helpful guidance here helping a fellow Prius owner out, I might have really put myself in danger, and could have greatly jeopardized the longevity of my vehicle. Thanks again!

 

Got the Toyota LLC Coolant and have been checking under the rad cap for the last week since I learned this from your post and the other threads in the forums. It has been full of coolant up to the top under the rad cap each time. Did I luck out and get a shop who knew what they were doing? I'll keep keeping an eye on it just to make sure!